The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-12-09
THE OLD TUNE.BOOK.
a story OF Row England Boyhood.

"For Sale Cheap" Hiram had a pas
sion for quaint old books, and many
q time for a mere tride he had bought
literature which no sum of money
could have induced him to part with.
And now, as he rummaged among the
musty volumes, he heard a piping
voice that startled him strangel y.
"Wall, meow, If it amt Hi Atkins!
But, ,sakes aliveI how he has filled
eout!"
This was What the voice said, and
the shrill tones took Hiram Atkins
away back over the years, and over
the hills, and over the rivers, and it
seemed to him as if he were a boy
again-a ruddy little boy in a prim
Vermont village among the rugged
hills.
Gee whillikins!" said Hiram. otis
q Carminy sacryl Yes, an it's the
very same Carminy fused to sing eout
OF when l belonged to the choir!"
So it was; the same greenbacked OBJ
long book OF church music which Hi
rams grandmother had bought for
him when he was a boy and began 60
ing to singing school. That was
many years ago, and times were all
different now. Hiram Atkins was no
longer a boy; battling in this great
noisy western world had brought
wrinkles to his face, and the years had
left traces of their frosts and SHOWS in
his hair. The Carmina Sacra, too,
was changed; once it had been bright
and fresh and new, but now it was
faded and ragged. Fully one-haIf of
ats green pasteboard covers was miss
ing.
didn't know me at fust, did YEP"
asked the Carmina. "Waal, times
have gone powerful hard with me, an
/ guess / amt of much more account,
nohow. Why, when your gran'ma
bought me l cost her q doIlar'n' a
half, but Gov Pm chucked inter this
ERE basket with a lot of vain, trivo-
lous, secular trash that's goin' at q
nlnepence apiece"
The old tune,book sighed grievous-
ly. To Hiram Atkins it did seem like
dissertation. This old tune-book was
one of the first books he had ever held
in his hand-with the exception Of his
New England primer, his catechism,
and his bible,lt was the first.
"IlF buy We; darned if l DON'T"
cried Hiram. "I'll buy we, if it takes
the last boss dads gotl'
And he did buy the old Carmina
Sacra, although it cost him only two
York shillings, and not a spirited
Morgan as yeH might suppose.
Hiram took the Carmina home with
him, and that evening they talked
over old times together; that is to
say, as Hiram turned over the leaves
of the quaint old book and saw the
familiar hymns and psalms and an.
thems, the tunes seemed Go talk with
him and hum to him, and he couldsee
faces and hear voices he had not seen
nor heard in many years.
"You wuz a little boy then" said
Brattle Street; ''you legs wuz chubby
an your cheeks wuz rosy, an you
wore a cunnin' blue jacket to which
yenr tsesssse$S Wiz 5u6toned with
brass buttons. Sometimes when it Wuz
cold you wore q tippet and cap that
had ear lappets on it; your yarn
mittens wuz hitched together with a
long tape to keep you from losin' OF
'em. Ought but what alfred cold
weather we used ter have on the west
side Of the mountain, chr"
"Waal meow, / he'd almost forgot
ten it, said Hiram, musingly.
sfYe hed?" exclaimed Denis; IAN We
don't remember the Oh meetin' house.
nuther do ye?p
"Indeed, lido" said Hiram, FAN /
remember the little blue jacket with
brass buttons best of all, but / had
forgotten whether the winter wuz SO
very cold or not"
"Waal, / declare for'tl" cried Brat
tie Street. That beats all natur'!
An we've fogot yer poor OF gran'ma,
too, haint YEP
ooh, no" solemnly. II could new
or forget dear old gran'ma, though
she's been dead many, many years"
Jest as like as not We reekollect
how We use ter bring her foot-stove Ter
meetin' ev'ry Sunday in winter timer"
Eyes, / reekollect it Meow" said
Hiram, smiling. 1T was a crazy old
affair-a zinc box in q wood frame,
punched full o. holes, with q small
iron pan inside. hated it thsn,
cause the Newtonb boys an the others
made fun q, me fur Snrrvin' il fur
gran'mar-goll darn me I'd carry it all
over creation fur her neowI"
"Ye use ter stop In the vestry an
fill the pan With Goals out er the
stOva.D Raid nania. Ian than ynnta
carry it upstairs an, set ii in the new
do you remember the pew near the
pulpit-an' SO gran'ma's feet wuz
warm all through meetln' while you
set IN the other corner NV the pew.
shiverin' like calves.foot feily an
w0nderin' why the minister prayers
wuz allurs longer in winter than in
MKT I